Quakes, Dynamo draw in San Francisco

The San Jose Earthquakes tied the Houston Dynamo 0-0 on Wednesday night
at Kezar Stadium, earning their fourth consecutive shutout in preseason
play.

Fourteen minutes into the match, Houston threatened with the first real
scoring opportunity as they had the long throw working. Eddie Robinson's
throw was flicked on by former Earthquakes forward Cam Weaver and
seemed as he was searching out Corey Ashe at the back post. Joey
Gjertsen's sliding clearance kept Ashe away, and play resumed.

Just two minutes later, San Jose had a chance, as Javier Robles had his
curling effort to the near post from about 22 yards out saved by a
diving Pat Onstad.

In the 21st minute, Gjertsen carried down the line and found an
overlapping Chris Leitch, who whipped in a dangerous low ball that
skipped through the area before being cleared by Geoff Cameron.

Cameron had an opportunity to give Houston the advantage just a minute
before halftime, as he rose to meet a corner by Mike Chabala, but his
header went just high of Joe Cannon's goal.

Once the second half began there were wholesale changes on both sides.
The Earthquakes had the first chance of the half, as Simon Elliott drew a
foul about 25 yards out. Cornell Glen hit his shot just high of the
target.

San Jose was threatening again in the 63rd minute, when off a broken
corner, Jason Hernandez played Chris Wondolowski in on goal, but his
volley effort went just wide.

Just two minutes later, Quincy Amarikwa came in on Onstad, but he was up
to the task, saving Amarikwa's close range shot. The rebound fell to
Glen, who had his shot blocked, and Wondolowski missed his rebound wide
of the net.

In the 79th minute, Ramon Sanchez nearly broke the deadlock from a dead
ball. Sanchez's effort from about 25 yards out skipped through on net
and went inches wide of the far post.

The game finished in a 0-0 draw, making it the fourth consecutive clean
sheet for the San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose takes on the Portland
Timbers Saturday, March 20 at Buck Shaw Stadium in their final preseason
match. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. PT.

"I was happy that there wasn't a big drop-off of our play from the first
half to the second half. We've got some good depth, and that means we
have some good players that aren't playing. We have a very solid squad,
and we keep our standards high, which is good for any coach."

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER JOE CANNON

On the result:

"It was a gritty game on a pretty slick surface. We had a couple of good
chances. The guys in the back four did an excellent job, especially the
two center backs Jason Hernandez and Bobby Burling. In the first half,
Jason makes a critical tackle, and in the second half, Bobby Burling
winning headers."